Sudheendra Aithal of Udupi district was known as an animal lover. He was so fond of wild life that he had almost turned his house into a mini zoo. His dual face was exposed when the CID/Forest Cell of Karnataka police raided his house in October last year. "We were just shocked to see the rare animals he had caged in his house. It was a mini zoo where he had altogether 51 animals and birds, which according to the law cannot be caged or made pets,' says the IGP of CID, Forest, KSN Chikkerur. The animals found in his house were yellow legged green pigeon, Indian fox, lion tailed macaque, large carmorants, pond heron, pea fowl, spotted owls, rock python, chital, porcupine, mouse deer, Nilgiri langur, barn owls, palm civet, sambar, white bellied sea eagle, green barbet and soft shelled turtle. These are all endangered species. Their notional value is around Rs 50 lakh, says the officer. As he did not kill the animals in his captivity, Sudheendra appears quite humane when compared to Prabhakar Keshav Gajakho sh, Udaya Parashuram Kad am and Arun Parashuram Kadam from Dharwad district who were caught in December last year, with 21 leopard skins and one tiger pelt. It was just money that drove these men to go on a killing spree. The disappearance of tiger from Sariska tiger reserve has not given any wake up call to Karnataka where unabated poaching still goes on, on a big scale. It is not that the big cats are the only animal striving for existence, several endangered species are within the range of poachers' guns in Karnataka. In 2005, 16 cases under Wildlife Act were registered and 33 people were arrested. Wildlife properties seized from them include one